Meet the ES Teachers
Cheryl
I’ve been a Spanish and French teacher in a local secondary school for nearly thirty years; I’ve also worked with many primary school children and had lots of experience helping students master English and Maths. I am proud to have begun my new role with Pilgrim and am loving supporting and working with students in the home.
I have twin daughters who are 18 and both of whom have suffered severely with their health over the last few years. They both now are wheelchair users, and they both had to have alternative arrangements made to support their KS4 education as they were too ill to be in a physical school. This is how I learned about the wonderful school that is Pilgrim; I have seen first hand the positive impact that Pilgrim home teachers and PSWS can have on students too unwell to attend school. Without their help, one of my daughters wouldn't have been able to make the next step and attend sixth form. I am therefore absolutely thrilled to be part of the Pilgrim team so I can help other young people in the same way.
In my spare time, I have 2 chihuahuas, and enjoy taking them out for walks and playing with them. I love cats too. When I get chance, I like baking and cooking and my favourite TV show is Bake Off (but I’d never want to appear on it!) My daughters have also introduced me to the world of Taylor Swift and Harry Styles (but my favourites are still Jamie Cullum and Take That!)
Claire
Hello. I joined The Pilgrim School in 2023, after moving back to Lincolnshire. Having worked in education since 2000, I have enjoyed teaching whole classes, groups and one to one pupils. I particularly like to see pupils develop in confidence and find it extremely rewarding when they start to believe in themselves and their abilities. I look forward to supporting pupils and their families and feel privileged to be part of the team.
Diane
My name is Diane and I’ve been at Pilgrim for about 6 years. I love teaching English, especially GCSE poetry. Even if English isn’t your favourite subject, I will help you to get the most out of it and do the very best you can.
Before I came to Pilgrim, I taught English at various schools and a little bit of Drama, which I also enjoyed. I did my degree at Lincoln University and my teacher training at Bishop Grosseteste, both of which I highly recommend.
I also love reading, travelling, gardening, ballroom dancing, going for walks and meals, the cinema, theatre, art galleries and museums.
I have a 4-year old granddaughter, a beautiful, white dog and a bossy cat.
Ems
Hi. I’m Ems. I love teaching, especially teaching Maths and sharing my love for my subject with the next generation of mathematicians. This is my second stint supporting students attending The Pilgrim School and I’m really excited to be back! Before rejoining The Pilgrim School, I headed up NRICH - probably the world’s largest maths outreach programme -which is based at the University of Cambridge. When I’m not teaching maths, I’m usually busy researching it (I’m an Associate Fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, and frequently publish academic papers on maths education). In my spare time, I love running, cycling and walking in the beautiful fenland countryside.
Jenny
I have been working with Pilgrim School for over 6 years now and have spent 1-to-1 time with many different children and their families as a Home Tuition teacher. I was a Primary School teacher for many years before I moved to Lincolnshire and since then have worked with Secondary School pupils, both in small groups and individually.
When I am not teaching, I like spending time with my friends and family. I have 2 grown up daughters who have 3 cats and 2 dogs between them…we love our animals! I also now have a grandson, who is absolutely hilarious and we have a lot of fun together.
I travel when I can and my last time away was a few days in Spain…although I don’t like to sit in the sun much. When I have time to myself, I read books to relax, go to the cinema or catch up on all sorts of drama series on TV on long Winter nights!
Working for Pilgrim is an absolute privilege and I am always impressed by the hard work that my students put in, to gain their best outcomes when they leave school to move on to their Post 16 choices. I am proud to be part of such a unique Learning Provision in Lincolnshire.
Jo
My name is Jo and I am an ES Teacher at the Pilgrim School. I have been a teacher for 23 years now and I have been working at Pilgrim for two years and I love it! My favourite subjects are English and Art and I enjoy bringing creativity into the lessons wherever I can. Pilgrim is a unique and special place to work and I feel extremely proud to be a part of our pupils learning journeys.
In my spare time I love to snuggle up with a good film or book. I used to live in London, so I like to go back there and visit my friends and go to the theatre. I adore animals of all shapes and sizes! I have a dog called Digby. I love to travel and my favourite place in the world to visit is South Africa. Going on Safari is the most amazing experience. I have been lucky enough to see many animals including lions, leopards, elephants and rhinos in the wild.
John
I live in Boston with my wife Liz, who runs a local Homeless charity, and we have 2 adult children. I read History at University and began my working life in Banking. I then did a PGCE in Maths and History and became a secondary school teacher. I initially taught both subjects but gradually moved more towards Maths and for 11 years I was also the School Examinations officer at the Giles School in the days when it tended to be done by a teacher.
In my spare time I like reading and still enjoy History but now concentrate on Local History. I was a Governor at 2 Boston primary schools for 18 years and I have an old MG sports car that I like to take out in the summer months.
I have now worked in the ES Team at the Pilgrim school for about 10 years, I love the job and have been privileged to teach some inspirational pupils.
Julian
I’m Julian and I’m an English teacher for the ES Team at The Pilgrim School.
I have been teaching now for over twenty years. The Covid situation meant that I could no longer be around a lot of people but The Pilgrim School has enabled me to continue teaching individual students. I love it because I have the time to dedicate myself to individuals and to help them achieve much more than facing a class of 30 students.
My hobbies and interests have changed over time. I have played the trumpet, saxophone and keyboards in brass bands, orchestras and pop/rock bands. I have acted professionally on stage and TV and have been UK champion in Latin and Ballroom dancing in the Sequence Formation Team Section for five years. I also tap dance and do a mean disco turn whilst I’m doing the washing up.
I own a wood a mile from my house and go there every day and have recently learnt a variety of crafting skills. And I love reading. To be taken into another world, on adventures and meeting people I wouldn’t normally meet. To let my imagination soar beyond the realms of possibility into the weird and wonderful, the dark and dangerous or the exotic and esoteric is one of the best feelings in the world.
I have travelled to Peru, Africa, Iceland, Thailand, Norway, most of the countries within Europe and Canada. I have ridden on elephants in the jungle, taken a helicopter over glaciers, seen wild bears hunting for Salmon, swam in thermal pools, motor-skied over frozen lakes, driven a sledge pulled by husky dogs and met tribal people living on reed islands on Lake Titicaca. There are still wonderful places to visit on my list.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Katie
More information coming soon!
Linda
I have been working with Pilgrim schools since April 2023. This follows 34 years of teaching in Primary schools in Lincolnshire.
I am part of the Pilgrim team working 1:1 with pupils in the home and enjoy offering support and guidance and helping every pupil achieve their very best.
In my spare time I love walking my dogs and swimming. I enjoy spending time with my family and have one grown up daughter. I love to travel and spent 6 wonderful weeks exploring Australia and New Zealand in January 2023. The highlight of the trip was a visit to a Koala Bear hospital.
I love working for Pilgrim schools and proud to be part of this team.
Melanie
Hello 😊
My name is Melanie and I am one of the Education Support Teachers at The Pilgrim School.
I have been a teacher for almost 25 years now! I originally trained as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher but have taught a lot of different subjects to a lot of different ages. I have worked in France and the Middle East too.
My favourite subjects are French and English, but I love Maths and Science too. I very nearly trained to become a Podiatrist, but chose to become a Teacher instead. I love teaching and learning. I hope I can help you love learning too.
I have an almost 10-year-old daughter and we have a white (with a little black) cat called Magic. We call her Magic because her tail is all black with a white tip – just like a magic wand. She is a very friendly cat who loves her tummy to be tickled.
In my spare time I love to crochet, although I am not yet very good at it.
I believe we all learn best when our learning is interesting to us. I really enjoy learning more about what my students like doing, so that I can try to bring some of their interests into our learning.
Michael
I have been working as an educational support teacher with The Pilgrim School since June 2024. I enjoy supporting students to help them learn and to do the best they can.
Before working for Pilgrim, I worked as a Science teacher in secondary schools for over twenty years. I love teaching Science and try my best to keep up with the many developments and discoveries that take place. For example, I’ve recently been reading books and listening to podcasts about human evolution and prehistory. I enjoy all aspects of the core curriculum and have valued the opportunity at Pilgrim to teach a broad range of subjects, including English and Maths.
I have two children, who help to keep me busy, but I enjoy reading and listening to music when I can. I also love walking: my favourite time of year for walking is in the winter, when it is wonderful to be outdoors making use of the short daylight hours.
Mike
Hi, my name is Mike and I am part of the Home Tuition Team at Pilgrim. At school my Science and Technology teachers were an inspiration to me and on leaving school I took up a career in Engineering with a firm in Lincoln.  The company sponsored me through university where I achieved a BSc in Metallurgy, and I became an Aerospace Metallurgist. 
I was a leader in a local youth group and after some time I decided to make the transition into teaching as a result of the love I have for working with young people. I completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Education at Bangor University in North Wales with a joint main method specialism of Science and Outdoor Education.  Over the next years I worked as an instructor in an outdoor centre, then as a Science teacher, and more latterly I was a class teacher at an SEN school delivering a variety of subjects including Science, Maths and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award before coming to Pilgrim.
At Pilgrim I love having the opportunity to encourage young people, and being able to impart my knowledge and experience, particularly to those young people who may be finding life a bit tricky!  I love the outdoors, whether that be for personal recreation such as canoeing and kayaking in my spare time, or when I am facilitating experiences for people as a Forest School leader, outdoor instructor or inspiring people to get involved in nature conservation!
Nicky
Hello, my name is Nicky, and I am a teacher at Pilgrim School.
I have worked at Pilgrim for 5 years, partly at the Base in Amber Hill, and partly in students’ homes.
Before Pilgrim, I taught in several different Secondary schools in Lincolnshire, and elsewhere.
I teach mainly English, which I enjoy very much.
I love reading, going for walks and spending time with my family and friends.
I look forward to meeting you and your family, and working with you.
Peter
Hi, my name is Peter and this is my guide dog Esther. After teaching reception and year one for many years, I taught English intervention at secondary school for the last thirteen years.
Esther mostly likes to run and sniff.
I believe that everyone can learn and progress, so long as the environment and support is right. My background is fine art painting and now that I’ve retired from full time teaching, I spend much of my time doing just that- which I love.
If you should meet Esther, can you meet the challenge? Avoid looking at those eyes!
Susan
My name is Sue and I have been with The Pilgrim School for about 3 years teaching English. Apart from teaching English, I have also been in the RAF and my final posting was to RAF Waddington where I was lucky enough to work and fly on the Nimrod aircraft.
I absolutely love English, particularly reading novels but I completely understand that you might not share my enthusiasm for the written word! I will be there to try my best to help you to do your best.
I have other interests which include travel, animals (in particular the four-legged canine type) and gardening. I absolutely love eating out and because of this it is fortunate that I also like going on walks, playing tennis and going to the gym. In the summer I like to swim but I am really not very good at it. I keep trying to improve!
I’m really looking forward to meeting you and your family.
Vanessa
I love nothing more than being creative with my hands, and when using my mind. Starting my teaching career as an art teacher, after my fourth child had reached school age, I graduated from Bishops Grosseteste University with my teaching certificate, followed by an M.A. in Education (Special Educational Needs and Autism).
Experiencing two career changes – printed textile designer and mummy - I was ready for a new challenge. That challenge saw me work within The Wolds Federation schools (St Lawrence and St Bernard’s) from 2002 until 2017, with pupils for whom learning was their challenge. Having worked with pupils, with SEND, in mainstream settings since 2017 until joining Pilgrim School in 2021 as an ES Teacher, I still get excited about meeting pupils’ needs on an individual level, bringing into play my creativeness, in finding ways to engage and deliver learning wherever or however that needs to be.
In my spare time I knit, read lots of books, paint baby portraits and canoe Lochs and rivers with my husband